The Mirrors of Simple Emotion
by Pulling A Blank Here
Summary: Hami Asuke is the Kazekage's new head secretary, but she doesn't know what to think of the man. She has never met him, nor set eyes upon him. The nerves set in, and when she meets him, she realized where she went wrong. Nobody thought of the simple factor of emotion. Probably just a one-shot, folks! But I might expand. :3


Hami Asuke was ascending up the clay-molded steps, taking her sweet time. With her folder of paperwork in one hand, and her planner and record-keeping books in the other, she stopped to entertain her thoughts. It would only be a few moments until she began her new post, as one the Kazekage's head secretary and planner. It was a position as high as she could ever have hoped for, especially at the young age of 20. However, she couldn't help but feel symptoms of anxiety as the situation became even clearer.

Hami held the greatest respect for the Kazekage- as a warrior and a leader. However, she was not sure how she felt about him as a person. Although she had never met him, much less seen him in person, Hami had heard mixed reviews from all types of audiences. Some disgraced him as a demon, a monster on the throne. Others, particularly the young females of The Sand, praised him as the handsome, valiant leader of the eon. The young secretary-to-be had done her own research, though, in order to formulate an opinion. She learned of his past, and of his birth- and none of that was what troubled her. Even the demon within him didn't shake her judgment. What concerned Hami were the reasons for which he had for slaying countless individuals. Was it an uncontrollable urge for blood and flesh, or was it to protect? Or was he mentally unstable, and mad? Was he a menace, or simply the product of his toxic environment? As she had never met him, this was difficult. How could she work for a madman? A murderer? How could she handle working for a brave, heroic leader? Either way, the pressure was taxing, and his imminent presence put a pressure upon her psyche.

Deciding that she could no longer make her future coworkers wait, Hami shook her chestnut-colored hair, and let a new fire spark her olive eyes. She had not worked tirelessly for this position to simply be daydreaming upon her works' steps. Scampering up the final steps, she exhaled a deep sigh, and rapped upon the door's wooden surface.

A grainy, deep voice responded, "Come in."

Hami's sweaty hand shifted the folder to the crook of her elbow. It grasped the brass knob, turned, and gently swung open the door.

The familiar scent of clay and sand, ever-present in the Sand Village's buildings, wavered to her. The Kazekage's office was fairly large and round, with some smaller vacant desks to the left, cluttered with books and scrolls. Overhead was a great rounded ceiling, adorned with several paper lamps. Directly to the back of the room, the wall was simply a window. Right in front of this window, and facing Hami, was the Kazekage himself. Hunched over a magnificent desk of luxurious pine, he was fervently scribbling into a large stack of papers. A few seconds went by, and at last he turned the foremost paper onto a separate, smaller pile beside the tall stack. His lean build finally straightened up, and piercing sea-foam green eyes met Hami's.

"I-I-"she blubbered.

"You must be Hami Asuke," he nodded, with a rather notable miniscule amount of emotion. "Everyone else is on break at the moment, but you're welcome to situate yourself at your desk." He nodded to a slightly less impressive desk to his left. Upon further examination, beneath the monotonous expression, the slightest hint of sadness was visible- even the tiniest dash of shame. In an instant, all the young secretary's research had proved pointless. It seemed that she had forgotten that he was human, that he was a person, with emotions. Not just motives and ideas. Judging by his expression, many others had long forgotten that fact as well. Hami nodded, and proceeded to plop her things upon its surface. She instantly whirled around to face the crimson-haired Kazekage, Sabaku no Gaara.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir!" she chirped, with her right hand extended. At this, his brow furrowed for a moment with confusion and surprise, even the slightest bit of fear. In a flash, it was back to the monotonous expression. But this time, with no sadness- just the slightest, miniscule dash of a smirk. Gaara rose to his feet, pushing his chair back with a gentle screech. He shook her hand firmly. The Kazekage's grasp was so fiery against the young girl's.

"Thank you," he said, "I hope you'll get along well here."

"I'm sure I will. You seem like a good person."

The red-headed ruler gave a quick tour of the room, and explained the daily tasks that needed to ensue. With that, they sat to their respective tasks of paper, books, and pens. Her coworkers soon came from their lunches, and greeted her warmly. She noticed that they barely acknowledged Gaara, only with respectful nods and bows.

The day wore on, and the sun dipped into the sandy horizon. The others filed out, one by one. This left Gaara and Hami once again alone to their work, as it seemed it would be every day, considering the amount of work they both had.

While reading one of the last documents to be considered, Hami was twirling her brown bob-cut haired with one hand, and balancing her head with the other. Dainty lashes began to flutter, eventually closing her sight with darkness.

"Ms. Asuke."

With a start, she went bolt upright, "Sir?"

"You may go home now. It's getting very dark," he announced, still reading his papers. Her head cocked in response.

"Will you be alright?"

His gaze turned off into the distance, beyond his desk and documents, "Yes, of course." His gaze once again met hers, the intensity shaking her. "Will you?"

She smiled, "I can handle myself. Even I have some skill, sir."

"You're still a woman, and the fact remains that it's dark. Strange things happen in the dark."

"Fair enough," Hami laughed, "I'll be fine, though."

"I'll see you out, then," Gaara practically burst out.

"O… Okay." Gathering up what things she needed to finish at home, Gaara opened the door for the youthful maiden, as she nodded in thanks. They exchanged a few words on the day's work on the descent to the ground floor, as well as the journey through the deserted main building. At last, they reached the glass exit and entrance doors.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, this time 8 A.M.?" she inquired, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Yes."

"Alrightie, see you then," she said, opening the door to the dark, dimly lit streets. He dipped his head in response. As they parted separate ways, her to the street, him back to his office, Hami turned back and spoke again.

"Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara turned back perplexedly.

"Thank you for being so kind the first day. It means a lot. It'll be great to work with you." He responded by saying it was fine, and turned to walk back to his office. When she left, he stopped on the stairway to his office. His hand went from rubbing his brow to touching the left side of his chest, looking dazed. Shaking his red-haired head, he proceeded back to the office- to the never-ending stresses of being a ruler.

Hami Asuke did not realize that the snippets of conversation that they had shared were some of the most real and genuine words Gaara had shared with anyone, ever. Nobody really showed him genuine feelings and kindness, and therefore, he had never had any reasons to share the same with others. From that time forth, it was duly noted that the Kazekage was a little less cold, and a little warmer as long as Ms. Asuke was present as his secretary. It is a funny thing, the rule of reciprocity of emotion.

Turns out, all people exist as are mirrors of emotion, reciprocating what is thrown at them.


End file.
